Eating our way through LA

A few weeks ago we were in Los Angeles, where we had an opportunity to sample some really great restaurants. Here's the list of our favorites:

Best Sandwiches - Smoked whitefish bagel and brisket dip from Brent's Deli

My family has been going to Brent's for as long as I can remember. It's always on the agenda when we come to LA. My husband had never been before, and thankfully, I can say that he likes it as well as I do! I had smoked whitefish and cream cheese on a bagel, and he had a brisket sandwich. They were both really good, I can't decide which was better.




Best Pizza - Squash blossom, tomato and burrata cheese from Pizzeria Mozza

This was a great pizza, the crust is unlike anything I've ever had before, it's almost hollow on the inside. The pizza was topped with tomato sauce and squash blossoms and finished with dollops of burrata cheese. Each dollop of cheese was seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil. We also had a pizza with guanciale, fontina, radicchio, escarole, egg and bagna cauda that was excellent.

Best Pasta - Sauteed trenne with beef bolognese and cavalo nero from Campanile

This was one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had.Trenne is similar to penne, but it's shaped like a triangle instead of a cylinder. The beef bolognese was tender and perfectly seasoned, but the most interesting part of the dish was the treatment of the pasta. After the pasta was cooked, it was sauteed to create a brown crispy crust. I am still thinking about how delicious this was, and you can bet I'll be trying to recreate it soon.

Best Freebie - Cranberry and orange muffin from Craft

These muffins were given to us as a parting gift. I think the cute packaging says it all!


Best Baked Goods - Brunch pastry basket from Campanile

Every single item in this basket was delicious, which I think is a great feat. We received raspberry financiers, an apple turnover, a chocolate cupcake and pumpkin nut bread. The chocolate cupcake was the best cupcake I've had in recent memory.

Best Presentation - Beet and gorgonzola salad from Craft

This salad was almost too pretty to eat. Red, yellow and chiogga beets were quartered and mounded onto a plate. Small sprigs of greens and pieces of gorgonzola were tucked into the cracks. The salad was topped with shavings of raw beets in different colors. It was quite beautiful.

We had a great weekend, and we're already thinking about which restaurants we want to try the next time we're in LA.